This is Me
by BamfIsAwesome
Summary: Snapshots of Ahito. Rating subject to change, but shouldn't be too bad.
1. Come Alive

**YO, YO, YO, I'm here to let you know that I'm writing a new fanfiction! About ****Galactik Football. Obviously. Not sure where this one's going, and I usually write the story before posting it, but not this time! Nope, I'm going to torture you all with infrequent updates, as I myself so often endure! (I don't really mind, but it's nice to see an awesome story actually updated less than once a month…) Well, what are you waiting for? Get reading!**

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><p>He still couldn't quite believe it. Here he was, standing in Genesis Stadium, surrounded by what looked like thousands upon thousands of people. The noise was incredible, people shouting and cheering and screaming.<p>

It wasn't even the first time. This was the second half of what was not the first match. But that just made it better. All the more real.

He could hear them, the fans of _his_ team. _"Go, Snow, Go! Go, Snow, Go!"_ He could see opponents on the other side of the stadium, staring them down with iron in their fists and fire in their eyes.

He wondered if the other team felt as he did. If the electricity in the air stood their hair on end. If the roaring of the crowd made their hearts beat faster, their blood pump harder. If they could feel that heartbeat against their ribcage as they stood there, feel their blood pounding through their bodies. If the fire in their eyes also ignited in their hearts and souls and sent their fluxes wild 'til it filled them and they were astounded and grinning fiercely because they'd never felt like this before.

No, he realised, no they didn't. They _couldn't_, couldn't possibly. He was pretty damn sure his own team didn't feel like this. And, as he turned to take his position, as he saw his team, he knew that this was true; it was he who felt this way, him and him alone. And he loved it.

Ahito had never felt so alive.


	2. A Journey Starts

**I actually wrote this after I posted the last chapter of 'New Potential'. I left it for editing then never got back to it, and now I can't remember what it was I was going to edit! So I left it as is and am posting it now****.**

**Disclaimer: Alphanium owns GF, not me.**

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><p>"What the hell?" Clamp gaped open-mouthed at the screen, Aarch not faring much better.<p>

Thran immediately knew what had happened and quickly pushed past the crowds and ran up to the older men. "Start the program!" Seeing Aarch try to speak, the boy continued, cutting him off. "I know he's asleep, just trust me! Start the program!"

Clamp eyed the kid as though he'd gone off his rocker, but after a nod from Aarch, started the try-out.

Ahito was dreaming. About football, of course. They (he and Thran, the other players on their team were faceless, though that red-head looked an awful lot like D'jok) were playing against the famous Lightnings, and Warren had broken past their defence. Ahito was there, in the goal, ready to leap as he kicked the ball…

The dream remained even as his senses turned outwards, the semi-awareness of something headed his way causing him to react. He was still technically asleep, and perfectly content; D'jok and Micro-Ice often threw things like footballs at him when he was asleep (nothing particularly harmful, of course) initially to wake him up but later to marvel at his subconscious reflexes. As the ball entered his physical range, he shot out his left arm, fist clenched, and punched it up and away. It was natural, the lingering memory of the goal's position affecting his reaction. Consciously, it wasn't even registered.

His arm dropped back to his side as Ahito shifted slightly, settling physically back into sleep, only to be tugged back to action by another ball, further to the left of the goal this time. Again, the sudden alteration of the external environment went practically unnoticed. It was his leg that intercepted this time, at impressive speed, and he proceeded to curl up and relax back…

Ahito started to actually wake up as his personal proximity alert quickly made him aware of several incoming targets. Over a certain number of projectiles that were over a certain speed and/or frequency would pull him back to consciousness as his subconscious registered that he needed to be fully aware in order to compensate. All vestiges of fatigue drained away as his eyelids slowly lifted, before snapping wide open as realisation struck. This wasn't nap time, this was the try-outs being held by THE Aarch to get on the first Akillian football team in fifteen years and compete in the Galactik Football Cup! _Get up!_

He promptly leapt to his feet so zealously he nearly fell over again. No time to think about that though, as he jumped to deflect the ball over the top of the net, catching it with his palm and ending up on his back. He quickly scrambled up again and dove to the right, punching with both hands and sending the next ball off the pitch. A well-placed foot deflected another near the floor to the left, before throwing himself to the right again. The try-out continued in this manner until he neatly caught the last football with both hands against his chest, the force of it sending him staggering back a little way. He looked up, ready for more, but when he saw the eight or nine balls coming towards him he wisely rethought his plan of action. He was a superb goalie, had been kicking and catching balls practically his whole life, but he also had only two arms and he certainly wasn't stupid. There was no way he could catch any of those without the others hitting him and at that speed they would give him a black eye and sore abdomen at best.

He turned away, bringing up his arms to protect his face and curling in on himself to protect his torso. Only it wasn't just eight or nine balls, more came after that at increasing speeds. They were just spiting him now!

"That's enough, Clamp!" Aarch repeated, obviously not happy.

"Alright, alright…" The smaller man grumbled to himself. "I'm ending the program…"

Aarch shook his head. Hopefully the kid wouldn't bruise too badly after that…

He had to admit, that was one of the most fantastic displays of goalkeeping he had ever witnessed. He had no idea why Clamp had suddenly unleashed all those balls and intended to 'ask', but the group the boy had joined caught his eye.

"Though, to be honest, the pelting afterwards was a surprise! I hope they didn't expect me to catch any of those; I've seen spaceships fly slower at warp speed!" Thran and their friends laughed as Ahito finished detailing his experience.

Aarch turned expectantly to his friend. "Well?"

Clamp mumbled incoherently as he couldn't bring himself to think up a lie, but the tone was enough that Aarch frowned disapprovingly. It wasn't Clamp thought the kid a show off or anything, though. The look of sheer determination on the boy's features had stunned him, there was no room for showing off through that fierce concentration. He just hadn't been able to resist; the look on his face!

When they saw their faces on the screens, chosen to be a part of the new Akillian team, the four pretty much burst with happiness. Thran joined D'jok and Micro-Ice in jumping up and down like rabbits on sherbet, and Ahito whooped and shouted with the rest of them. Never before had he felt such overwhelming joy. His dreams were coming true.

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><p><strong>What do you think? Some people do have a subconscious awareness of when things get close to them; I figured Ahito would have something like that too.<strong>** I'm surprised Aarch let Clamp get away with pelting Ahito like that in the series, though. Initially I had Thran, D'jok and Micro all getting angry for that, but realised that since Ahito wasn't really that hurt or upset they probably wouldn't see a reason to. Also, I know some people that once snorted sherbet for fun and they were quickly high as kites on the sugar. Hope you enjoyed :)**


	3. Phobia

**This took me totally by surprise. The thought came to me when flipping Aragog ambushed me in the bathroom. I figured, 'hey, Thran's totally got the mechanics down, but what about organics? Heh, not likely!' And this was born :)**** They're on Wamba at this point.**

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><p>No. Oh God no. Not this, anything but this.<p>

The blood had drained from his face, even as his heartbeat tripled and sweat beaded on his skin. He opened his mouth to scream, but terror had stolen his breath away from him and left him cold. _How did it even get in?_

He heard someone knock on the door, and Mei's voice floated into the room. "Hey, Thran, can I come in?"

He wanted to shout, to call for help, to tell her no she couldn't because it wasn't safe, _anything_, but every muscle in his body seemed to be frozen save for his petrified trembling.

Cocerned, Mei spoke again. "Thran? Are you okay in there?" She knew for certain he was in there, but why wasn't he answering?

Still he could force no noise from his throat… but then it _twitched_. Convinced it was about to charge, or bolt, or _something_, he involuntarily yelled at the top of his lungs.

Instinctively, Mei burst into the room, eyes wide— and promptly screamed as loud as she possibly could.

Footsteps rumbled from every direction as the other temporary occupants of the area ran to aid their team-mates. Micro-Ice was the first to arrive, skidding to a stop. "Don't worry, Mei, I'll save you!"

Until he saw from what he would be saving her and his own voice was added to the cacophony of girly shrieks echoing in the air.

D'jok, Rocket and Tia all arrived at once, but couldn't actually see into the room to figure out what was going on, even as Micro-Ice back right up out of the way, as Mei already had done.

Thran was now three parts scared and one part irritated. "Will someone do something already!"

Unfortunately, his voice was the last straw, what with the ruckus with the rest of the team, and it skittered under Ahito's bed. Thran's eyes widened in horror for his poor brother, but still cried out again and remained standing on the chair.

"What is going on!" Aarch's familiar voice filled the air, silencing the other noises.

Rocket spoke up. "Something's in Thran's room, but we can't see it. Mei and Micro-Ice have though." The coach's eyes shifted to the aforementioned pair, but Mei simply shook her head, eyes fixed on the doorway, seeming to fold in on herself. Micro-Ice started stuttering and babbling, but no one could understand him.

A yawn added to the noise, and Ahito joined them at a leisurely pace, blissfully unaware of the creature taking residence beneath his bed. "What's all the noise about?" He peered into his shared room, confused and worried to find his brother (the braver, tougher big brother at that) balanced precarioulsy on a chair looking terrified. Said brother pointed shakily at the younger's bed, and Ahito swallowed.

He nodded, and carefully crept into the room, ignoring the other's protests. It was a testament to Thran's fear that he didn't attempt to warn his little brother off, simply watching, wide-eyed. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as he gingerly stepped towards the offending piece of furniture, heart hammering in his chest and breaths coming fast.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he knelt down to peek beneath the bed. After a moment of searching, he relaxed. In fact, he started laughing. "Bibiri-kun!"

For a moment, Thran was totally shocked. Who the hell was he calling a scaredy-cat!

"It's not going to hurt you." And, with that, Ahito did the unthinkable— he _picked it up._

_WITH HIS BARE HANDS_.

Alright, he was wearing gloves, but they were fingerless and he'd still picked it up! Thran could only gawp, completely godsmacked.

Mei and Micro-Ice shrieked again and backed down the hall, and the other team members slowly moved away from the door as well, now able to see it.

_It_ being the hugest, hairiest, stripiest motherflipping eight-legged beast any of them had ever seen. (There weren't many invertebrates on the snow-covered Akillian anymore).

And Ahito was cupping it quite contentedly in his hands. "Y'know, it's way more scared of you than you are of it." He informed them amusedly, walking right past the back-pedalling footballers.

A Wamba stumbled upon the odd scene and approached, curious. "Everyone here okay?" She asked, and then spotted the spider. "Oh, them! Those critters won't do you any harm."

Ahito nodded in agreement and rolled his eyes at the others. "But my brother's got issues with animals with half this number of limbs, and he's pretty much having a heart attack right now, so do you mind putting it somewhere else?"

The native smiled and shook her head. "Honestly. But yeah, will do." She gently took the spider from her human guest and winked, leaving to relocate the poor blighter.

Ahito thanked her and turned back to his team, coach and all. Pansies, every single one. He laughed again, poking his head back round the door. "It's gone now, bibiri-kun!"

Thran finally got off the chair, and glared at his twin before eyeing everyone present.

"We never speak of this again."

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><p>'<strong>Bibiri-kun' technically translates along the lines of 'scared little boy', but for the sake of common understanding, I've altered the translation slightly.<strong>** I could never do this, by the way, I'd be Thran in this situation. I was even attacked by a wasp as I was writing this and nearly dropped the laptop.**


	4. It's Not My Time

**Right, this is**** a stark contrast to the previous chapter. It's pre-series, when the kiddies all have their metaflux-induced fevers. Well, no— just afterwards. All except for one. It's also based off of and inspired by a true story between two infant sisters.**

**Warning: Angst and fluff.**

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><p>Thran never stopped to wonder at his closeness and protectiveness of his brother, as he was quite young, and in the end it was just the way it was. He accepted this in the way only a child could, and so didn't think his actions at all questionable when he broke into the hospital that night.<p>

Both twins, and two of their friends, had all come down with terrible fevers. Thran's had broken; Ahito's had not. In fact, he had been getting steadily worse, thus being hospitalised. But although their kaa-chan was there with him, his aniki was not, and neither of them could stand it.

Hence why Thran was breaking into the hospital.

Ahito blinked blearily as he watched his nii-san open the window of his hospital room, probably with one of his clever gadget-y things, and climb in. He felt overwhelmingly hot, but he couldn't stop shivering, and his mouth and throat were dry and painful, and the people here had stuck things in him and it _hurt._

Hospitals were supposed to make you feel better! (Even if it had, he still wouldn't like them) That's what kaa-chan said… so why did he feel worse? The doctors even said he was getting worse, when they thought he couldn't hear, and they made his kaa-chan cry. And his aniki hadn't been there, but he didn't want Thra-nii to cry either.

But he was here now, and Ahito felt better already. He tried to speak, but he could barely move save his shivering, and he was quickly becoming too weak to even do that.

Fortunately, Thran wanted the opposite; he wanted his otouto to stay still and quiet, to rest and not wake kaa-chan up. She was in another bed in the room, staying close to her precious son in what the doctors believed to be his final hours. It was unlikely he would last the night, they said, but she had refused to believe it. She had been unable to remain awake after almost a week of sleeplessness, though, and if Ahito truly didn't make it, then she would never forgive herself.

Without any kind of hesitation, Thran crept into Hito-nii's sickbed, tugging off his shoes and coat and snuggling up to his brother. He frowned at the heat and sweat he felt, and tried to move away again so as not to make his otouto hotter, but Ahito whimpered at the perceived abandonment and he moved back again. He couldn't stand to upset his little brother _(his twin, his Hito-nii, the sweetest otouto-kun in all the galaxy)_ when he was as sick as this. He was always getting sick. Something to do with his 'deeyenay' or something.

You see, Thran and Ahito were to be identical twins. However, Ahito's genetics suffered a few slight mutations. Nothing truly serious; uncooperative hair as opposed to his twin's easily-manipulated style and the like. However, these mutations left him slightly more susceptible to illness, and he was also pegged as the most likely to develop some genetic disorder in later life.

As far as Thran could understand it, life was being pretty darned mean to his nii-chan, and he didn't like it one little bit.

Ahito felt contentment rise in him, almost not feeling his raging fever anymore as he was reunited with his big brother _(his twin, his Thra-nii, the bestest aniki-san in all the galaxy) _and they snuggled together in the all-white bed that smelled icky and felt weird, trying to ignore the pipe-thing in his arm.

There were barely a few minutes between them, but young children assimilate; their kaa-chan treated Ahito-chan like he was two or three _years_ younger that Thran-kun, and he responded accordingly. It would be quite a while before this stopped— at tou-chan's insistence and Ahito's indignance because one day he was going to be _eight _and a _half_ and that was _plenty_ old enough to stop calling him _chan_, thank you _very_ much— but for now he was the baby of the family. And right now, he was content as he was.

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><p>The next morning, the boys' tou-chan turned up at the hospital. He had awoken to find Thran missing, along with his coat and shoes. Paying no heed to <em>how<em> he'd gotten in, as the little one surely had, the man simply knew that Thran-kun would go to his brother and his brother was at the hospital so they'd both be there. He was right.

He crept carefully past Masaki (who complained about his sleeping habits but wouldn't wake herself if the house fell down) and looked upon his sleeping boys, quashing the sick feeling at the sight of his youngest son's pale and sweaty face. Out of habit, he reached out a hand to brush sweat-slicked hair away from Ahito-chan's face, and as his fingers made contact with the child's skin, his heart soared.

Ahito's fever had broken.

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><p><strong>The story this was inspired by is of two infant sisters. They were born small and weak, and it looked like one of them wasn't going to survive. Then, one of the nurses broke the hospital rules and placed the two babies<strong>** together in one incubator. The healthy girl wrapped her arm around the other in an embrace, and her life signs stabilised.**

**I've never had a proper fever before, not anywhere near to this extent, so it's mostly guesswork. I hope**** it's okay :)**


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